a new tool to make PowerPoint useful again
Do you remember PowerPoint? Do you still use it? I feel sure that many presenters and public speakers have long dismissed Powerpoint, probably feeling that it is both overused and regularly misused.
Well, guess what? It is possibly time to get out PowerPoint once more. Especially if you have access to the online, or web, version.
Recently, Microsoft introduced a new tool into PowerPoint; a tool which could make it both a useful and a leading product once more. This could be especially true for Speakers and Presenters. The only downside is that the new tool currently is only available on the web version of PowerPoint.
If you are a speaker and you have access to Office 365 or online PowerPoint, then you can make use of this new tool right now.
I guess I have ‘teased’ you enough by now. I have told you there is a new tool in PowerPoint and I have told you it could be useful if you are a Public Speaker or Presenter. I have yet to tell you what it is or what it does. So read on …
It is called ‘Presenter Coach’. It listens to you as you rehearse your speech or presentation and gives you feedback. You do rehearse your presentations and speeches, don’t you? If not, well I give up now.
Having created your presentation, you can rehearse it by playing the slideshow … yes, I am sure you are all familiar with that. What is new is that you can rehearse it ‘with presenter coach’. When you use the presenter coach, your device will listen to you as you speak. When you have finished, it will give you feedback in regard to your speaking speed, your choice of words and any errors (such as ‘filler’ words).
Presenter Coach will warn if you are tending to speak too fast. It will pick out any words or phrases which, it feels, might offend your audience. For example, it suggested I should use the term ‘servicemembers’ instead of ‘servicemen’. It will also indicate where you use filler words, such as ‘umm’. Though, be careful on the last point; in one of my rehearsals, it misheard the word ‘some’ as ‘umm’, when used at the beginning of a paragraph.
It will also warn you if it detects you reading the text on your slides….. yay! If it stops people doing this alone, then it is a worthwhile tool!
One aspect of the tool which I found useful, is that you do not have to have an actual presentation created. You only need one slide for the tool to be used, and that slide can be blank. I tried the tool with a blank slide but giving my full 7 minute long speech and Presenter Coach worked perfectly.
By now, you may have realised that Presenter Coach requires access to your device’s microphone. If your device does not have a microphone or access to the mic is disabled by policy, then I’m afraid you are stuck. The tool is also currently only available on the web versions of PowerPoint. If you do not have access to the web version, then again you are stuck. I do. not know if it will be made available in other versions of PowerPoint or if it will ever be included in other software packages, such as Word.
Hitting upon the use of ‘filler’ words may sound like an idea ‘borrowed’ from Toastmasters International but the tool is not a substitute for learning to speak better in a speaking club. The tool is an aid for those of us who want or need to practise ‘on the fly’ (ugh, cliche alert). Those of you who feel it is okay and natural to use filler words in your speeches, may not like this aspect of Presenter Coach. You could always ignore it, of course, and focus on its other feedback points, such as speaking speed.
For myself, I found this tool to be useful when developing a speech and to compare different versions or different approaches or styles of a speech. The feedback is limited currently but is still useful. It is not without its problems, mishearing words and wrongly accusing you of ‘filler’ words, for example, but that is to be expected in new software. Hopefully, new features and bug fixes will be released in subsequent updates.
In conclusion. This is a new PowerPoint tool developed by Microsoft which, I feel, can be useful for a speaker when practising and developing a new speech. Its availability is limited and does rely upon web access and granting access to a microphone. I feel it is worth giving Presenter Coach a try, it may just surprise you by giving useful feedback. Best of all, it admonishes you for simply reading the text from your slides!
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